Dragons
by Keelin Alidafai
Summary: Kali and her dragon are sick of school, so they plan an escape. But the world is not what they thought it was. corruption plagues everything. Suddenly, they are forced into coing an impossible task. Can they save the Kingdom?
1. To Fly

Kali clung tightly to her dragons' back. No matter how many times she flew with him, she couldn't ever loose the thrill of pulling up into the clouds, or feeling her stomach go into her throat as she plummeted back to earth.

If he could withstand the strain, she would fly on him- with him- for weeks on end, only coming down for rest, food, and water.

Reality check.

Without a name for him, and a lot more practice, she would have to stay in the Dragons Den Flying Institute for another year or more! Ugg, thought Kali.

She hated it there; a great building of stone perched precariously on a cliff in the mountains of Na'anore. Kali had a top room in plain sight of the dragon caves.

Often, not being able to sleep on their hard beds, she would climb out of her window and steal over to his den for a night ride.

He didn't like it there either. He wasn't as big as the other dragons, and Kali was his only friend. He couldn't speak, but he had another way of communicating. He was black as night, with a silver underside and red eyes that burned like coals. Kali thought he was gorgeous.

The pair happened to be on a night ride as these thoughts passed through her mind. _So...when do we escape?_ The sound jolted her. Another thing she would never get used to. Thought speak.

Only 1 in every 1,000 ever came close to being able to use this form of communication. To have full use of it, as he did, wasn't heard of. Literally.

Only one person was ever able to hear it, which is why all of the instructors at the institute thought he was mute and were baffled by her ability to perceive what he wanted. One person. Her. Kali. His soul partner.


	2. Trouble

Kali sighed and asked her dragon to glide back down to the institute. He glanced back at her, and exhaled a puff of smoke. Her eyes widened, but not with fear, with excitement.

He pulled his wings in against his body, turning torpedo-like. His eyes turned to slits and he pointed his body at the cliffs. Kali leaned forward, hunching herself over his neck.

They shot downward, gravity puling on them harder and harder. Kali's hair whipped behind her like a streamer. She laughed, her voice getting carried away by the wind.

At the very last second, he snapped his wings out, instantly halting their dive. He reached out with his back legs and gripped the edge of his den. He lay flat on the floor so Kali could hop off.

He looked at her, his partner. She was slightly less than five feet in height, slender too. Kali looked like she might shatter if touched too hard, but that was a mistake that many had made.

In truth, she was rock hard, and had a fiery temper to match. Her hair was auburn, and her eyes bright green, like emeralds. He loved her eyes. Kali had just the right skin tone- not dark, but not light.

All in all, she was a splendid creature. _How was that for a nice glide?_ He asked. "Perfectly wonderful. How fast was that? It must have been at least eighty." He grinned, displaying a full set of razor sharp teeth. _Hmm...I'd have to say eighty-five._

"I suppose you're right." Kali said. Dragons were very good at these things. He nodded in agreement. _You'd better get back to bed, before Mrs. Crouse finds you._

"Oh," she said, rolling her eyes, "right." Mrs. Crouse was the meanest, hardest instructor in the whole institute. It figures that Kali got landed with her.

Kali gave her dragon a hug goodnight, and scrambled down the cliffs. She reached one of the eight bridges connecting the students with their dragons and sprinted up the stairs to the base of the school.

From there, she climbed up the rock face, never once pausing to see where the next handhold was. She didn't have to. She could probably climb the wall blind folded. That was how well she knew it.

She finally reached her window. Just as Kali finished slipping into her room, a voice came from a dark corner of her room. "Well, well. Good to see you back in one peace." This voice was like a whip. Kali cringed. Mrs. Crouse.

Her glasses appeared, followed by her face, head, and body. She was in her forties, maybe early fifties, but she still looked evil. Mrs. Crouse had black hair with streaks of gray in it. This hair was always pulled back into a tight bun at the back of her head.

She was pale, with some wrinkles around her face. Of course, no one dared to think about that, for it was certain death. Her eyes were small and black. Those eyes were her worst feature. They could see everything, and they threw daggers at wrong doers.

That is what Kali got when she looked at her teacher. Kali glanced away, but she could feel a hole being born in the top of her head. "So? What do you have to say for yourself? Sneaking out at night. You know that is not allowed."

"Yes, ma'am." Kali mumbled, not wanting to look up. "You know what this means, don't you?" This time Kali looked up. "But...I just wanted to see him!" Mrs. Crouse shook her head sharply two times.

"No excuses. Three hours detention tomorrow, and no weekend freedom." _Oh, man..._ Kali thought. Weekend freedom had to be earned. It meant that for one whole weekend, the student could do whatever they wanted, within reason.

Kali had been working hard to earn this for months, and now she had thrown it out the window. "Yes, ma'am." She replied solemnly. Why did life have to be so hard for her?


End file.
